May 16th, 2012.

I can’t seem to stay away from politics for too long these days – this is something I wrote when the NDAA became a huge deal… right AFTER it was passed… last year. One of the key things that a lot of our knee-jerk almost-activists MISSED about this last year was that it’s an annual thing that they apparently haven’t been upset about for the past seventy years or so… in any case, I’d encourage you to write your Congress-peep and encourage them to be a little more specific in their language – if this is something that concerns you click here and get your letter on: http://act.demandprogress.org/…

I read some more about this – it’s actually pretty fascinating, and the exact same language has been used in ever year’s NDAA since 9/11.  I think I DO remember a flare up of angst about it back then – I’m having trouble digging up details from ten years ago, but I think it was over the language that allowed people to be detained over supporting terrorist activity (rather than simply being directly involved – because it’s so hard to prove that you didn’t INTENTIONALLY give to a terrorist organization if it turns out that your favourite charity gives some proceeds to Al Queda).

In any case – it’s an expansion of the powers given / funded through the NDAA (note that the NDAA is something that happens every year!) since the 40s or 50s, but literally it hasn’t changed in the last decade…. what’s really interesting (I think) is that this current flare-up of interest in it seemed to occur when someone called attention to the language, and Mark Udall and Rand Paul tried to change the language to… do something … I haven’t figured that out yet… but the pertinent change in the language that has stuck actually seems to require that if someone suspected of terrorist / terrorist-supportive activity (according to the “laws of war”) IS to be detained sans Miranda / trial / etc that it can’t be done by civil forces (i.e. cops), it HAS to be done by the military.

I can see plusses and minuses to that.

After the flareup of interest, Diane Feinstein of California wanted to add language excluding American citizens from any possibility of being detained, but I think got kind of cut down by the idea that this was a 10 year old law, it’s worked fine so far, what’s your problem?

It IS key, and frequently ignored in conversations about the law, that the law does require the detainment to be made in accordance to “the laws of war”, which really kind of undermines the fear that people are going to be detained over their Facebook statuses and Tweets.  Now, I’d definitely argue that some actions (drone targeting of individuals for assassination, indefinite interment, invading random countries, etc) are really, really wrong – but they have more to do with our definition of what is and isn’t “war” and almost NOTHING to do with what Obama and Congress “snuck around” doing over the Christmas break. 

Unfortunately, most of our government is run less like a business and more like a slacker college student with their parents’ credit card, cramming the night before the final – and I truly believe that more injustices are caused by their sheer incompetence than by a concerted effort of evil. 

That being said – write a letter to Congress, get them to define what war is and what war isn’t.  Demand transparency when it comes to people charged with terrorism.  Demand the legal understanding that corporations are NOT people too.  Demand election reform, and vote against every fucking incumbent till it happens.  Don’t buy from companies that disagree with your politics, no matter how good the sale is.  Write to THEM and explain why they don’t get your dollar.  Write to a journalist and tell them they’re doing a great job – or that they’re not – it’s their JOB to keep Congress and corporations honest!  It’s why we’ve got a free press!   – and tell your friends to do it too – and tell your friends to tell THEIR friends…. but freaking out on Facebook and distributing disinformation, with which NOTHING productive can be done, frankly reinforces Congress’ obvious opinion that the public is so uninformed that they can’t possibly care anyways… and they’ll continue bickering, spending money in spectacularly selfish, short-sighted and stupid ways, and running for reelection until the drains clog, the bridges collapse, and public education devolves into nothing beyond multiple choice quizzes with an (e) “Cause God Said So” available after as the last answer for every question.